Translation of an article about Willy Tadeo Layug and Jesús de la Verdad, in the newspaper "El Español".

 The Christ who came from the Philippines: this is the remodeled image of Jesus of Truth, in Malaga

The Asian image maker already made the image of the titular Mariana in 2020: "His dream was to see a Virgin under a canopy in Andalusia."

 

Cross the Mediterranean; traverse Syria, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India; pass through the Bay of Bengal and, finally, fly over the Indochina peninsula. At first glance, it may seem like the ideal trip for lovers of backpacking tourism. However, this was the journey made by the image of Nuestro Padre Jesús de la Verdad, from the Carranque parish group. The carving from Malaga has crossed half the world with a destination set in the GPS: the Philippines. The reason? Place of residence of Willy Tadeo Layug, the Asian artist in charge of intervening in the cofrade carving.

 

David Santos is the president of this association that began its journey in 2014. In statements to EL ESPAÑOL from Malaga, he explains that they learned about the work of the Filipino image maker thanks to the friendship he had with a brother from the corporation. Santos recounts that, when the idea was proposed to him, it seemed "a bit crazy": "The Philippines making an image for Malaga? He had never heard that, but we talked to him, he told us that he knew Romero Zafra and showed us his work Finally, we reached an agreement for him to make us the Virgen del Sagrario."

 

After this incorporation, they decided to undertake the integral intervention to the carving of Christ. The bust and the hands of the image traveled to Pampanga in September 2021: "We did not want to change the size, so we decided that he would be the one to remodel it," says Santos. Miguel Ángel Gálvez Robles and Marta García Plaza were in charge of finishing the body and restoring the feet, as well as executing a new base. Regarding the result, he states that they are "very happy because it has been widely accepted" by the brothers and the people who have seen it.

 

osé Manuel Leiva, known for his participation in the brotherhoods and parish groups, was the point of union between this corporation and Willy Tadeo: "He and I are friends on Facebook. We talk a lot and one day he told me that his dream was to have a Virgin under a canopy in Andalusia. I told him that I was going to make his dream come true, so I tried to convince Truth and Sagrario of the need to incorporate his image as a headline," he says.

 

He says that the artist is "a benchmark" in the Philippines, to the point of being the author of the image that presided over the mass that Pope Francis officiated in Manila before two million faithful. A friend of Romero Zafra and a great connoisseur of the work of Juan Vega, Miñarro or Ruiz Montes, Leiva defines Layug as a versatile author who sings, paints or reinterprets sacred art through the cultural characteristics of his land: "The polychromes in his work have a certain Asian influence, but he draws on the Andalusian baroque", emphasizes Leiva.

 

What is the explanation behind this project? For José Manuel there are two reasons. The first, globalization: "There is the possibility of talking in real time with someone from the other part of the world. When they told me that the Philippines is very far away, I answered that 200 kilometers is also a long distance." The other reason, providence: "I gave him my books on ceramics and we began to talk. In 2021, five centuries of the Christianization of the Philippines by Magellan, who arrived in 1521, were fulfilled; in gratitude for that, he gave us the Virgin " .

 

Leiva points out that this artistic exchange between Spain and Asia has been common in the past, especially in Seville. "There are people who tell us that we've gone too far, but you can't say no to a gift like that." As a sign of this international link, the proclamation of the corporation for the year 2021 was pronounced by Rosa Agüera, Philippine consul in Malaga.

 

"Willy has been a Nazarene of the students of Seville. He knows all the brotherhoods of Malaga, so as he comes I see him going from one place to another without giving me a break. This shows that Malaga has a lot of names everywhere," he says.

written by Juan Romera.